can easily replace brake bulbs but not sure how to replace side markers. Dealership said its difficult and you can break the whole taillight.can easily replace brake bulbs but not sure how to replace side markers. Dealership said its difficult and you can break the whole taillight.

1 Answer

Just did this "easy fix" on my 1999 Camry.
Lift trunk lid and pull away carpet covering the tail light. Retain plastic pins that hold carpet in place. Be prepared to have your knuckles scraped by the carpet as you work.
On the 1999 Camry, this was NOT a tool-less fix. You could reach in, turn the tail light socket a quarter turn and them remove it without tools. You then simply pulled the bulb straight out (it was bulb size 904 on my 1999) and plug the new bulb straight in.
NOW... the rub. Although the bulb/socket came out easily, we found it impossible to get the correct angle to replace the bulb and socket without smashing the bulb. Two intelligent adults tried for 30 minutes.
So... step 3. Easy but requires tools. Get your socket set (I couldn't find the right socket, so I used a pair of needlenose vice grips--worked fine). There are two threaded bolts with nuts in the interior access area for all of the light sockets. Unscrew nuts, retain. Now look on the exterior edge of the tail light. There will be one more solid grey nut. Remove and retain.
Step 4: You can now loosen the tail light cover and pull it out enough to allow you to safely insert the bulb/socket assembly. Gently turn it until you can insert the socket, and then give it a quarter turn to lock it in place.
Step 5: Push tail light cover back into place making sure the two interior bolts are in place.
Step 6. Replace and tighten the three nuts.
So, not a 30 second fix. More like 10 minutes. Easy, but a pain, and requires a tool, but truly, if this clumsy 6 months pregnant woman can do it outside in the dark... so can you.

Haven't seen any bulb designation. The bulb(s) must be slender to fit through/into the socket. The backup lamp bulb is single element, the brake/turn signal/running lamp bulb is double element. The 1157 bulb is much too fat to fit into either socket.Haven't seen any bulb designation. The bulb(s) must be slender to fit through/into the socket. The backup lamp bulb is single element, the brake/turn signal/running lamp bulb is double element. The 1157 bulb is much too fat to fit into either socket.

Tell us some more! Your answer needs to include more details to help people.You can't post answers that contain an email address.Please enter a valid email address.The email address entered is already associated to an account.Login to postPlease use English characters only.

Related Questions:

Open back hatch
Remove screws holding the lens on
Apply some force pulling it out side to side because the have alignment pins that are a little stuck
Push in the thumb lock and turh the wire connector on the back to remove bulb holder
Reverse of removal
Hope this helps

Asuming you mean taillight/turnsignal, and not highmounted brake light:
1.open the trunk
2.Remove 4 wingnuts on trunk trim (there are two on each side)
You can do it by only removing 2 on one side, but it makes a nicer job,
3.Pull back the trunk "trim" the carpeted cardboard
4.Remove 2 wingnuts which hold the taillight assembly in place
Pull out the taillight assembly; you might want to remove (i.e. unattach or unplug) the wiring harness
5.Turn the particular bulb's socket (there's 5 back there: 2 tail, 1 back up, 1 side marker, 1 brake/turn) counterclockwise, and it removes from the assembly, holding the bulb.
6. Pull out bulb and replace.
6. Reverse steps to reassemble.

To access the rear lights, you access them from inside the trunk. Pull down the carpet at rear of trunk near latch. There should be the screws the manual is referring to. Once you locate and remove all screws, gently pull the light assembly away from body. Replace the needed bulbs then gently push assembly against the body, replace the screws and set carpet back in place.

You'll need a phillips head screwdriver and possibly a needle-nose pliers.

Open
your tailgate and look near the taillight assembly. With the tailgate
open, you'll see 2 phillips head screws holding the taillight assembly
in place. Remove the screws and pull out and toward the side of the
car. You'll see the wiring harness that plugs into the taillight body
and three plastic disks that have a raised plastic tab. Twist the tab
counter-clockwise for about 1/4 turn and the disk/socket will come out
with the bulb attached. The socket may be difficult to twist by hand,
so you may need a needle-nose pliers to grip the tab lengthwise. I
suggest replacing all of the bulbs in the assembly at once, even if
they're not all bad so that you won't have to do it again when another
bulb inevitably burns out.

After you have the bulb(s) replaced, reassemble the taillight and reattach in the reverse order of disassembly.

if you mean taking the socket out... you need to give it a quarter turn and the socket will unlock... other then that you may have to remove some screws to move the lining away from the area where the bulbs are

If you're asking how do you change a taillight bulb, then follow this procedure:

Open the trunk lid.

Disconnect the connectors from the taillights (taillight bulb connectors are visible by looking inside the trunk at the back of the tail lamps.) There may be an interior trunk trim panel that you have to take off but in most cases its just a series of thumb screws that hold them in.

Brake Lights/Taillights: 21/5 W

Rear Turn Signal Light: 21 W

Back-up Light: 21 W

Rear Side Marker Light: 5 W

Turn the bulb sockets 45 º counterclockwise to remove the bulbs.

If you're removing the taillamps with the bumper off there are 3 nuts and screws that hold the taillight to the rear panel of the car that have to come off from the inside of the trunk.Remove the nuts and screws, then remove the taillight.

If you are still looking for the resolution, it's really pretty simple. It is highly recommended that you remove one light assembly at a time, thus allowing you to have a good guide when repositioning the assembly back on the vehicle body. Yes, the only way to get to the burned out bulb in the taillight is to remove the whole darn thing! The bulb burns out every 4-5 months, so I have become good at it...Here goes:

1. Open trunk. Look for small (3" diameter) cutouts in the fabric panel in the trunk liner. They are identical and appear next to the taillight assemblies, on the side, not behind the taillight.
2. Gently use a flat blade screwdriver and pry them open. These cutouts are attached to the inner trunk liner fabric, so be gentle.
3. Notice the phillips head screw inside the opening. Unscrew it slowly, making sure it doesn't drop between the chassis and the trunk liner. Remove the screw.
4. Place soft towel on the outside of the car under the taillight assembly, to prevent scratching the car bumper.
5. Gently grab both sides of the taillight assembly from the outside and pull away from the car (rear direction. Be careful not to pull too hard, or the wiring harness behind the assembly may break.
6. You can now access all lamp in the taillight assembly. Change the bulbs as needed. Also, if you can vacuum or clean the dirt on the chassis as well as on the back side of the taillight assembly, you'll feel better later :-)
7. Placing the taillight assembly back in its place is a bit tricky. It seems to go back easily, but the rubber lining nearest to the trunk opening and where the phillips head screw is, must be placed exactly right or water will leak behind the assembly.
8. Screw in the phillips head screw, but don't overtighten it. You will need to open it every 4-5 months to replace another bulb (its an Audi-VW plan to sell more bulbs).
9. Snap the trunk liner caps back in place and voila, you have done it.